. Conclusions
Considering these results, raffinose was identified as the only carbohydrate fermented exclusively by all strains of Bifidobacterium
spp. evaluated, and just for a single L. acidophilus strain. This result led to the development of an alternative culture medium for the enumeration of bifidobacteria, RP-MUP, which showed similar selectivity to TOS-MUP and better performance than MRS-NNLP and MRS-ABC. Finally, the association of RP-MUP with Petrifilm AC plates permitted the selective enumeration of bifidobacteria in fermented milk, obtaining final results in less time than the pro- tocol described in ISO 29981, This represents a viable alternative to the food industry for monitoring these products.